LV Kunoichis Shippuuden: Part 2
by Axelstar
Summary: yeah, its all gonna be the same story from now on.
1. Revealed

Lycan gazed out her window of her small cabin, looking at the sky. Quit frequently did she think of the place she grew up in, her friends, family, her lover, and her rivals. But suddenly the tranquility of her thought was interrupted and within moments there was a knock at her door. She was cautious answering it; hardly anyone knew of her location, she was rouge after all.

She gasped. "Neji?"

Neji stood in Lycan's doorway, carrying an unconscious Raidon. "Lycan."

She then observed him wearing a Akatsuki cloak and she suddenly starting spitting questions. "Why are you here? How did you find me? What happen to her? Why are you wearing that?"

He held up his hand, silencing her. He swiftly moved past her and lied Raidon down on the bed located inside the house.

"Lycan, I need you to take care of her."

"Of course I will." Lycan folded her arms. "But first, you need to tell me what the hell is going on."

Neji took a deep breath, and kept the explanation short. "Axel returned to the village about a month ago. A few days ago, they were on a mission. Cathrina appeared, and Axel lost her temper, the two ended up fighting."

Lycan's eyes widened and she took another look at Raidon. "That kid did this?" Lycan started to laugh, what kind of shape is she in?

Neji looked down, "Shes dead." He stood up and started to walk towards the door.

Lycan's gaze grew hard. "Why are you wearing that?"

No answer.

"How is Kiba?"

"Fine."

"Neji"

He didn't pause for her next question; instead he exited the home and disappeared into the woods.

* * *

Tonight would be the last night that Vladdy layed on Axel's bed. She sat on her knees, holding a picture of what their team used to be. "Axel and Raidon-sensei shouldn't have fought….We could all be alive and happy right now…" Her mind flashed to a talk she had with Iruka, and how he mentioned the changes the world was going through. She let one single tear run down her cheek as memories of when they were genin filled her mind. She fell back on a pillow, closing her eyes. And then, Axel's last words played through her head.

"_And the scrolls…"_

Vladdy instantly sat up, looking around the room. She quickly got up and started to open Axel's dresser drawers. Finally, a bundle of scrolls fell upon her gaze. Her eyes grew attached to one in particular. The one that had the forbidden seal.

* * *

Gaara and Shikamaru made their way to the west training field, hoping to find Vladdy. They found her sitting by a tree, surrounded by scrolls.

"May we join whatever it is you are doing?" Gaara asked, still cautious of her cousin's feelings towards her.

Vladdy did not look at them, but continued to read. "How long are you staying?"

Gaara wasn't sure if that was an insult or not. "The sand village knows that I will be here for quit some time."

"Good, now, you are welcomed to join me if you take _that _off and put _this _on." Vladdy held up a Kohana headband, which Gaara slowly took in her hands. The cloth was a fainted pink. Axel's. Gaara sighed, and slowly unwrapped her Sand village headband, replacing it with the Kohana one.

"Alright." Gaara stuck her Sand headband into her shuriken pouch.

"Good, you may sit."

Shikamaru and Gaara sat on Vladdy's left and right. Shikamaru gasped as he read the material on the scrolls. "Where did you get those?" he demanded.

"Axel's room." Vladdy continued to read, "There's one for basically every jutsu, except that shield one, where is that?" She looked up curiously at Shikamaru.

He was overwhelmed; he hadn't seen these things in a while. "T-he justu wasn't finished, s-so she didn't write one." He stammered and reached for the one labeled with a forbidden seal.

"That requires more chakra than I thought, but there aren't a lot of details on how the seal is set." Vladdy said.

Shikamaru's gaze hardened, "If you're going to drown yourself in these scrolls, trying to learn her jutsu's; don't learn this one."

Vladdy glanced at him from the corner of her eye, "And why not?"


	2. Secret

Vladdy stared at Shikamaru. Waiting for an answer.

Shikamaru ground his teeth. "Because it's not worth it!"

Vladdy raised an eyebrow. "It's one powerful jutsu, I'll need it to defeat Rae." She muttered quietly.

Shikamaru glared at her. "Look." He started, "I don't know like anything about the seal. Asuma applied it after Axel verbally instructed him on details." Shikamaru rubbed his face. "I had to get far away from the application of the seal. Her screaming was too much."

Vladdy's eyes widened, "Her screaming?"

"Yeah, the jutsu bothered her a lot. Most of the time, she compressed the seal, but it always took a lot of energy. Whenever she let it show, she became very tired and frequently had headaches. Hell, I've only seen a little bit of it revealed; I don't even know what got sealed inside her!" He started to tear the scroll.

Vladdy instantly grabbed his wrist, her grip tight. "Stop."

The two had a long, silent gaze exchange, when Gaara's voice was suddenly heard.

"Spirit." She murmured.

"What?" the two of them looked at her, confused.

Gaara looked at them. "I-I'm not completely sure…I don't even know how she came up with it….but Axel probably sealed some kind of chakra spirit inside of herself."

"What the hell is a chakra spirit?" Vladdy asked.

"Well…I think that it is almost like taking the chakra of another and locking it inside yourself. Almost like Naruto and Gaara." She said, rubbing her forehead. "I have no idea where she would obtain something like that though."

Vladdy started to read the scroll for the fiftieth time. _Axel, what were you doing to find something like that? _Her mind flashed to the beast her best friend had become in order to destroy another beast.

And then she started to read in between the lines.

'_The chakra must be summoned to the center of the body and then the seal must be placed, concentrating the chakra to the heart…'_

Vladdy knew summoning all the chakra to one major organ in the body, and then somehow adding more chakra would be basically impossible, even for a hokage.

Her mind raced; flashes of all the specific things Axel had said in her last few weeks.

And then she realized that the ring and scrolls had been placed in nearly the same place.

_Concentrating the chakra to the heart…_

Vladdy jumped up and started to run, completely catching Gaara and Shikamaru off guard.

"Vladdy, where the hell are you going?!" Gaara yelled after her.

* * *

Kyoya was in shocked as he was pinned up against the wall, staring into angry eyes.

"Vladdy, what are you doing?"

"When Axel was here, what did she tell you about the seal?!"

"What seal…?"

Vladdy pushed harder, "Don't play dumb, the star tattoo! What did she tell you about it? Anything?!"

Kyoya's eyes narrowed, "She only gave me a scroll, she didn't tell me anything about it."

"Where is it?"

"Why should I give it to you?"

"Because if you don't, your neck well be snapped within 2 minutes," she threatened, tightening her grip.

"Let me go, and I'll get it." Kyoya said.

Vladdy dropped him, and then closely followed. They entered Kyoya's bedroom, where he bent down and opened a floor board, pulling up a small piece of paper; he handed it to vladdy.

She grabbed it, "I thought you said scroll?"

Kyoya didn't look at her, "That's all she gave me."

Vladdy unfolded the note and gasped when she realized it was a letter.

_Vladdy & Gaara,_

_I don't know if it will ever be necessary for either of you to read this, but just in case I'm going to write it. I will defeat Cathrina the next time I get the chance. I will never forget Raidon. But there is a good chance I may not come out, either from myself or from her. My scrolls are located inside my bedroom; but the seal on my eye is for an extraordinary one. It involves a summoning and a chakra seal. Honestly, I don't want either of you learning this, but the technique needs to be made aware of. The scroll on this isn't really helpful at all, so I left one at the place that I discovered the technique in the first place. Go to the Village hidden in the stars, and find the spirit who will reflect you. They will guide you to the North Star temple, and you will find your way from there. I know it sounds like riddles, but you two can get through it._

_Forever and Always,_

_Axel._

Vladdy looked up; Kyoya had still not moved.

"Thank you, Kyoya."

He rested his head on his knees, "No problem."

* * *

Vladdy snuck back to the village, and started packing for the mission. She wrote a small note informing Tsunade of her whereabouts and when she would return. And then, without a word to her loved ones, she disappeared into the black atmosphere; without any sun, or any moon, or without any starts shining.


	3. Kouta & Kiri

Gaara woke up to the sound of rain tapping at her window. Her eyes opened to see the grey sky covering the world. And then she noticed a hawk flying above.

She made her way to Tsunade's office. "You called?"

Tsunade was facing her window. "Vladdy left the village."

It was too early for things like this. "What?!" Gaara gasped.

Tsunade looked at Gaara out of the corner of her eye. "Not permantly…just something to do with Axel. She said she'd be gone three weeks at the most."

Gaara's mind flashed to her cousins running off yesterday. "Did you call me here to track her down?"

"No…I called you here to see if you knew what she was doing."

Gaara sighed. "I have no idea."

"Alright, you may leave."

Gaara was confused. "Are you at least sending anbu after her?"

"No."

"But-!"

"Silence!" Tsunade ordered, "Last time I checked, you were not technically a shinobi of this village." Tsunade said, knowing those words stabbed Gaara like knives.

Gaara stood there, dumbfounded, and finally walked away in silence.

* * *

Vladdy was almost throughBear Country, closely approaching the location of the village hidden in the stars. They had never really been a strong village, but still had a neutral alliance with Konoha.

Finally she reached a fog. A barrier to the village. From this point on, she walked with caution. Suddenly she felt a presence behind her. Instantly, she ducked, and grabbed the arm that had attempted to hit her. She swung at a body, and heard the breath being knocked out of it. The fog around the two dispersed a little, and Vladdy looked down upon the one that had attacked her. It was a boy, probably 2 years younger than herself. He had brown hair, and green eyes that reflected her own. Without hesitation, Vladdy elbowed backwards, sensing the other presence. She felt a gasp at impact. She grabbed the other body and threw it down next to the boy. This time it was a girl, the same age as the boy. She had spiky black hair and also green eyes. They must have been siblings. They both wore star village head bands around their foreheads.

"Who are you?!" The girl demanded.

_Was this the Star Village's gate protection? Some genin?_

"A Konoha shinboi" Vladdy answered.

"Konoha has no business her!" The girl spat, attempting to stand up.

"Sit down." Vladdy said, kicking her back to the ground.

Vladdy glanced at the boy; whom instead of looking at her with caution and malice, was observing closely, almost in recognition.

"What are you staring at?" Vladdy glared.

"Are you the Nisshoku?" He asked.

Vladdy and the girl gasped at the same time.

"Kouta! There's no way this is her! She doesn't wear the color of spring; but the color of death. Plus, theres just something off about her." The girl glared at Vladdy.

Vladdy picked the boy up by his shirt, their eyes reflecting. "How do you know of my blood line?" Vladdy asked.

The boy did not cower. "Because, Axel said you would wear the sun."

Vladdy's eyes grew wide, "Axel?" she whispered.

The girl stood up, still glaring. "Shuensha."

Vladdy was till staring at the boy, quivering.

"I guess it's time that we lead her, Kiri."

"I guess so, Kouta."


	4. Sinking

Vladdy dropped Kouta.

"Who are you?" The confidence had not yet returned to her voice.

"Well, I am Kouta, and this is my sister, Kiri," The boy said gesturing to the girl.

"And how do you know Axel?"

"Because," Kiri rolled her eyes, "She spent a long time here. This is basically her home."

Vladdy looked at her feet, "No its not." She murmured.

Kiri rolled her eyes again, "Anyway, Axel was pretty well-known here, she trained a lot. And she told Kouta and I a lot about Konoha, and you. And Gaara. The Nisshoku."

Vladdy glanced up at her, and then Kouta got her attention.

"You're here, to learn that jutsu, right?" he asked.

"Yeah."

Kiri and Kouta looked at each other, almost talking through their eyes. Vladdy felt left out of the conversation.

Kiri suddenly jumped up and started running, she looked at Vladdy, "Don't fall behind."

Vladdy started to follow close to the girl, Kouta behind her. She couldn't see where she was being lead, she could be headed for her death for all she knew; but these kids knew Axel; she had to trust them.

Eventually they were running through the star village itself; but Vladdy did not see anyone on the streets. They kept running, and running, until eventually, they reached a river inside of the woods.

Kiri stopped running. "Were here." She glanced at Vladdy.

"And?" Vladdy was impatient. "How do I find this so called spirit that will reflect me?!"

Kiri rolled her eyes yet again, "She didn't tell you all this?"

Kouta cut in, "You know she wouldn't have Kiri."

Kiri cut her eyes at him, "Alright, bend down at the river."

"What?!" Vladdy said.

"Just do it!"

Vladdy cautiously bent over.

"Now, look at your reflection," Kouta instructed.

Vladdy did so. Starring at her own face. Jeeze she had grown pale lately. _I really need to stop wearing black._ She was so focused that she didn't even sense four hands touching her back. And suddenly she was in the water. She couldn't catch her breath. She started to swim to the surface, and then realized no matter how much she swam, she wasn't getting any closer to the surface. She continued to struggle, her mind racing as to why they pushed her in. Her lungs couldn't do it anymore. She started to sink; _Of all the places, I'm going to die here? _As she was falling through the water, her eyes starting to close, a girl suddenly appeared; smiling. She reached her hand out and grabbed Vladdys, and suddenly it was black.

Vladdy's eyes opened to sunlight shinning on her face. She was in a grass field. She looked up to see a girl standing in front of her. The girl had long brown hair; the same shade as hers. The girl looked at her, and Vladdy was shocked to see her own face looking down.

"Nice to see you, Vladdy."

"Who..who are you?"

The girl smiled. "You."


	5. Heaven's Light

"Me…? But…I'm ME!"

The girl smiled, "Well, I'm a part of you. My name is Amaterasu."

Vladdy's eyes widened, "The goddess of the sun?"

She nodded.

Vladdy was shocked. Was this a joke? Like a… 'If you're dumb enough to believe this you DON'T get into heaven!' thing?

Amaterasu spoke in a soft voice, "Look around."

Vladdy did so and realized what a beautiful place she was in. She was in a large grass field, with pink flowers; the sun was shining, but it wasn't too hot; just perfect. Many yards away, a beach and a beautiful blue ocean existed. She down at herself. She was dressed in the same white silk robe as Amaterasu.

"Vladdy, this is all a part of you."

"This? Is…me?"

Amaterasu nodded again, "All of it."

Vladdy took this experience in, but then realized the whole reason she was here. "I need to get to the north star temple, and I understand your taking me there."

Amaterasu frowned. "Vladdy, why are you achieving this power?"

Vladdy was honest, "To become more powerful and to seek revenge."

"I was afriad of that." Amaterasu took a deep breath. See approached Vladdy, knelt down, and placed her index finger above Vladdy's eye.

"May heaven's light guide you."

Suddenly the grass and the flowers died. The ocean became rough and unwelcoming. And most of all, it was dark.

Vladdy started to be in immense pain from where Amaterasu touched her forehead. And without warning, the ground disappeared and she found herself sinking again.

_With revenge comes a price._

A voice whispered. Not the soft voice. But a voice she used to hear every day.

Vladdy awakened to her body coughing up water. She slowly rolled over, moaning. The atmosphere was cold, grey and wet. She shivered and stood up. A few meters away were an old stone building. The North Star Temple.

She slowly walked towards its door, the world becoming more silent as she approached. She walked up a few steps and before her stood a door. Attached to the door was a scroll. On it was the word, _Nisshoku._


	6. The Ocean's Roar

Vladdy slowly opened the scroll. And from it, she read the instructions for the sealing jutsu.

She opened the door to the shrine and walked in.

It was fairly small; dark with a few candles. She slowly walked to the front wall; there was a scroll pinned against it. A blank one.

She did as the instructions said, she slowly stated her name and purpose.

"Nisshoku Vladdy. I have come to saught power in order to take revenge on a monster who murdered my dear friend." Then he pricked her finger and let the blood fall onto the flames of the candles.

Within moments it was pitch black.

And then, light appeared all around her. She was amazed to look around and see no actual source of the light. Then her attention was re-drawn to the scroll located on the front wall. This time it was not blank; but filled with blood signatures.

Axel's was the most previous one on the scroll.

Without hesitation, or thought, Vladdy slowly wrote her name in blood next to her deceased friend's.

And then she felt sudden pain to her forehead. She started screaming, and when she opened her eyes she was again in the place where she had met the sun goddess. Except, this was the world where there was no sun, the flowers were dead, the ocean roared, and it was cold.

Amaterasu appeared infront of her suddenly with a disappointed look on her face.

"One last chance," she said. "Do you truly want this power?"

"Yes," vladdy answered.

Amaterasu sighed. "Then I must explain some things."

"First of all; this will kill you. No set date. It may be tomorrow, when you achieve your revenge, where your old, anytime; but it will eventually kill you, if something else doesn't first."

Vladdy's eyes widened, "You mean…she knew?"

Amaterasu nodded.

"Second. You must first pass one test, before the initiation can take place. Once you pass this test, the...summon, will be sealed inside of you. But you must have a controlled seal. And you must have someone else apply that for you, following particular instructions…"

"Yeah I got that," Vladdy said impatiently, "now whats this test?"

Amaterasu frowned, "Very well then."

She disappeared, and Vladdy looked out into the roaring ocean, where a figure was walking towards her.

Vladdy gasped, got up, and ran at the figure; crying slightly. "AXEL!" She embraced her friend. "Is this possible?!" she laughed, hugging her tightly.

"No, it isn't."

Suddenly Vladdy choked, and felt a sharp pain in her back. She slowly fell, spotting the blood on the ground.

She stared up at her friend in horror, "Wha..?"

Axel bent down to her level. "You want this power to avenge my death?" there was pain on Axel's face. "Then you must kill me. Again."

Vladdy was shocked.

Axel let her head fall. "There isn't much time. Remember I'm already gone. You have to defeat this…recollection of me, or die her yourself. Now stand up."


	7. You'll be sorry, but not now

"No," Vladdy choked.

Axel glared at her, "What the hell happened to you?" and without warning she started to continuously punch Vladdy in the face.

Vladdy couldn't move. She just let her face get beaten away.

"Do you honestly want to die here?!" Axel screamed, continuing to punch her, "What about Gaara, Naruto, Shikamaru?! What about everything you still want to accomplish, like surpassing Tsunade?! What about Sai?!"

Reflexively, Vladdy grabbed Axel's wrist and crushed it with one squeeze.

Axel pulled back, "Finally," she whispered.

Vladdy slowly stood up; she felt like she was on a high; like she wasn't completely in control; there was another presence in her mind; in her body.

Without meaning to, she let out a small chuckle, "Of course not," she answered, raising her head to Axel's.

Axel suddenly had chakra surrounding her, her eyes glowing white. And then, that cat appeared.

Again, without full control, Vladdy started channeling chakra. The part of her that WAS in control was burning, burning with pain.

Vladdy started to pore chakra; her eyes became eclipsed with black. And behind her, rose a Falcon, with the eyes of a demon, the power of a god.

In unison, they charged; the land that was a part of Vladdy, suddenly split from the large chaos of power.

Vladdy stood, control coming back to her. She looked upon her friend. Her dead friend. Her dead rival.

Axel's eyes opened slightly, "Good job," she murmured.

Vladdy bent down closer to her face, "I'm sorry," she whispered.

Axel laughed slightly, "Not yet, your not," and without warning she pressed her palm above Vladdy's right eye.

Vladdy screamed in anguish.

The tearing pain seemed to last years, thought it was only mere seconds before Axel was gone.

Vladdy screamed more; both from the pain, and the reality.

The ground disappeared and she was back on the river bank choking up water.

She rolled over, coughing. She screamed more, pressing her hands to her forehead, trying to heal whatever the hell was happening. I did not work.

She scrambled for the instruction scroll, reading rapidly, trying to figure out how to suppress the pain.

She couldn't find anything. _Do I only need pure chakra control? _She thought.

She attempted to focus, but the pain just got worse.

"Ugh, she's more pathetic than Axel was."

"We've got to help her!"

"Whateverrrr…."

Vladdy looked up at the sound of voices, to see the two brats who had nearly killed her earlier.

Kiri walked up to her, bent down, and placed her hand where the pain was emerging.

And then: It was dark.

Vladdy awakened outside the gate of her village. She was damp, cold, and she felt like she was about to puke. She stood up and was able to walk long enough to make it just up to the gate, and then she collapsed.

Vladdy's eyes slowly opened. She was now warm, comfortable. But she still felt sick. Once the room became focused, she realized Sai was sitting next to her bed.

"Thank god!" he whispered. He kissed her forehead, and ran his fingers through her knotted hair. "How do you feel?" he asked politely, like always.

"Like…like I'm going to be sick…-" She sat up quickly, and found a bucket stuck in front of her face. She threw up.

After a few moments, she laid back down, feeling slightly better.

Shikamaru and Gaara suddenly appeared at her other side. At first, they both smiled in relief. But Shikamaru's eyes fell to the tattoo above her right eye. "Oh, no…" he whispered.


	8. The Black Sun

Vladdy didn't look at Shikamaru. Instead she looked at Sai.

"How long as it been?" she asked.

"Well…you were gone for about a week, and it's been about four days since we found you outside the gate."

Vladdy was a little surprised. _A week? _She thought.

Just then, Tsunade walked it. And she didn't seem to happy.

"I see you're awake. How do you feel?"

"Fine, just a little queasy." Vladdy answered.

"Good," Tsunade responded. "Now, where were you and what the hell were you doing?" she observed the black sun tattooed above Vladdy's eye.

"Nothing." She answered.

Tsunade glared at her, "Oh?"

Vladdy nodded; not looking at anyone in the room. "Do you mind if I get some rest?" she asked.

"S-sure thing," Sai replied.

Everyone casually left the room. Though Vladdy new that Shikamaru would be stationed outside the window and Gaara outside the door.

Vladdy laid her head on her pillow. _I need someone to make the seal official. But who? Sai? No, I couldn't do that to him. Would Kakashi? Or Yamato? _Vladdy sighed. And then someone entered her mind. _Perfect._

The next morning, Vladdy got dressed, grabbed her things, and casually walked out of her hospital room. Just as she was expecting: Gaara was standing right there.

Gaara jumped, "Oh, haha, I was just coming to see how you were." She smiled.

_Righttt. _Vladdy smiled and walked passed her.

"W-where are you going?" Gaara walked behind her.

Vladdy cut her eyes at her. "Home. And then I'm going shopping, is that okay with you?"

Gaara hesitated, "Yeah, go ahead."

"Thanks," Vladdy continued walking.

She was honest about going home. She decided to review the instruction scroll. "Okay, this should work." And then she made her way to the farthest training field in the village.

"Rasengan!" And boom! And tree was gone.

"Naruto!"

Naruto looked up at the call of his name. Standing a few yards away was Vladdy.

"Vladdy!" He ran up to her, "How are you? I heard what happened and such."

Vladdy waved him away, "I'm perfectly fine," she laughed.

"Hey, whats that-?" Naruto started to point at her seal but she grabbed his hand.

"I have something you need to do for me."

Naruto hesitated. "Sure."

Vladdy smiled.

"Your large amount of chakra will be perfect for this." Vladdy finally stopped running once they were deep within the woods.

"Vladdy, what exactly am I doing?" Naruto was a little freaked out.

"First you need to promise you'll go through with, no matter what. I mean it: no matter what."

Naruto nodded.

"Okay then." Vladdy pulled a scroll from her bag. She pointed to her seal. "You're going to need to be completely focused when concentrating your chakra. Now, we need to mix our blood together-."

Naruto put his hands up, but Vladdy kept going.

"You said no matter what. Anyway, We mix our blood and put it on this seal. And then were going to put the mix on this summoning scroll too." She pulled out another scroll. "Then, I'm going to apply my chakra to the scroll. At the same time, you put one of your hands on my hand that will be on the scroll. You're other hand will be forcing chakra into this seal."

Naruto looked dumbfounded. "O-okay…"

"I don't know how long it takes, and remember, you cant stop no matter what, do you understand me?"

Naruto nodded.

"Okay," And they begun.

Sai was taking a walk outside the village; thinking. About Vladdy. Suddenly he heard a faint scream from far inside the woods.


	9. So close, so far

Sai ran as fast as he could through the woods; though he didn't feel as if he was getting any closer to the scream. The forest around the east gate was like a maze.

---------

Naruto almost quit once the screaming began. He wasn't expecting her to be in this much pain. And the chakra flowing into him felt disgusting. As did the seal when he was applying it.

Through Vladdy's pain she murmured, "Keep going."

Naruto did so, and finally, after god knows how long, the chakra wouldnt flow from the scroll anymore. He caught Vladdy as she fainted.

"Vladdy? Vladdy?!" He shook her slightly. But he was tired too.

Her eyes opened slightly. "I have a headache."

Naruto smiled a little. "Lets go"

Naruto carried her back to the training field they had come from and then collapsed from exhaustion. _Who knew applying a seal would be that difficult?_ He thought.

____

Sai ran through the woods and back into a training field. He looked around, and many yards away he saw both Vladdy and Naruto on the ground. He ran over to them and realized they were both sleeping.

____

Vladdy awakened. First she saw Naruto out cold next to her, then she noticed Sai sitting on the other side of him.

Sai gave her a tight smile; that fake one. "What on earth were you two doing?" he asked.

Vladdy sat up, dizzy. "Just training," she returned the fake smile.

"When you just got out of the hospital?" Sai asked, noticing no signs of training on the terrain.

"You know me, always busy." Vladdy gave a forced laughed.

"Yeah…" Sai said; not believing her.

Vladdy felt bad, not paying any attention to her boyfriend and all. She slowly got up, almost falling.

Sai stood up to grab her, "Are you okay?"

Yeah leaned in and hugged him tight, "Perfect," she whispered.

Sai blushed, hesitated, and put his arms around her.

____

Two weeks later, the group was called into Tsunade's office. Tsunade looked at them. "The Akatsuki have been spotted close by. The ones who killed Asuma. I have called you all here, because with many of you, there will be a lesser chance of me losing another shinobi. Sai, you will scout the area first, and then you may all dispatch. Shikamaru, you are team leader."

Shikamaru, Vladdy, Sai, Naruto, Gaara, and Kakashi all nodded in unison.

"Understood."


	10. Impatience

They all assembled at the gate. Sai pulled out his drawing scrolls.

"When you've spotted them, just fly back over, okay?" shikamaru told him.

Sai nodded, "And when you engage in battle?"

"Hold back, stay secluded, unless it gets really bad or I signal you."

Said nodded again, and began drawing a bird. It popped out of the paper, and he walked over to ride it.

"Wait!" Vladdy called.

Sai turned around, and Vladdy was just inches from him.

"Be careful," she whispered, and pressed her lips to his.

He was slightly taken aback, but relaxed. She slightly pulled away and he took her hand.

"I will," He smiled. Within moments he was in the air.

Gaara looked at Vladdy and smiled slightly.

____

Shikamaru had just finished explaining the strategy when Sai flew back over head.

"Let's go," Shikamaru said.

_____

Kakuzu and Hidan just dodged the kunai thrown from the forest.

Suddenly everyone was engaged in battle. It was obvious on the battlefield that Gaara was now a jounin.

Vladdy fought alongside of her, debating releasing her seal.

The group pulled back, after many techniques had failed. Shikamaru reverted to his final plan.

"Kakashi, do you think you can handle the stitched one without me?"

Kakashi thought for a moment, "We would have a better chance without the grey-haired one here."

Shikamaru nodded. He had his own disputes to settle with Hidan.

Gaara grabbed his shoulders. "You can't fight him alone!"

Shikamaru gently removed her hands from his shoulders. "I'll be back, I promise."

Shikamaru captured Hidan with his shadow and lead him into the forest.

Vladdy was going to help the rest fight Kakuzu, but she felt that she also had a dispute to settle with the other one. She started to run after shikamaru.

"You idiot!" Gaara yelled after her.

"Let her go," Kakashi said, "We need to focus on this one."

Sai saw Vladdy disappear. "Dammit." He debated revealing his location and going after her.

____

Shikamaru was facing Hidan when suddenly Vladdy appeared from the brush and a barrier was suddenly surrounding them.

"What the hell are you doing!?" Shikamaru yelled.

"Barrier techniques were started by the Nisshoku. And if you mean by following you, I feel I need to settle something with him.

Shikamaru was pissed, but he couldn't help it now, he would just need to slightly alter his plan.

Hidan laughed, and without warning, took a swung at a distracted shikamaru. Vladdy jumped infront of him, her force holding back the blade.

Hidan laughed again, "How about you move out of the way, little girl?"

Vladdy pushed the blade out of the way and took a swing at Hidan's gut. Miss.

Hidan laughed yet again, "Well, you've got some strength, but it's not enough," He quickly swung at her. Vladdy dodged.

"Vladdy, hold on!" Shikamaru yelled.

She fell back to his side.

"Shikamaru, I think…I know how to defeat him."

"How?!" he asked; he gasped when she pointed to the black sun.

"Don't." Shikamaru ordered.

She looked at him, "What else do you have in mind?!"

"Plenty until you showed up!"

Vladdy glared at him. She laughed and pushed him down. "Sorry," She whispered.

She concentrated her chakra and within moments the seal was released.

Her eyes turned black, chakra surrounding her. Suddenly a large Falcon appeared and with amazing speed and strength, it attacked Hidan.

"What the fuck is that?!" Hidan yelled, getting nicked by the chakra falcon, burning his skin.

____

"Shit!" Naruto choked.

"Whats wrong?!" Gaara yelled.

Naruto shivered. "GO! YOU AND SAI NEED TO GO TO VLADDY, NOW!"

"Wha-" Gaara was confused, but Sai had already popped out of the brush, running into the trees. Gaara followed close behind, worried.


	11. Lust

Sai ran as fast as he could, not thinking about anything but Vladdy; Gaara following close behind.

___

"What the hell is that?!" Hidan once again said, dodging the demon chakra thing coming out of the girl with the sun tattooed above her eye.

Shikamaru could think of anything. "That idiot," it muttered. "What am I going to do?" _I could just see if she actually defeats him…but what if she kills herself or me in the process? What if she can't defeat him? Then I'll have to deal with her dying and then I have to beat him?_

He stayed as close to the barrier as he could, thinking of a plan. His original one went down the drain once vladdy ran into the fight and set up the barrier.

"GO!" Vladdy roared, trying to keep control.

The falcon landed a hit on Hidan; blood flying.

"Shit!" Hidan yelled, "That fucking hurt, bitch!"

Vladdy grinned. All she had to do was make him unable to fight, and then the immortal thing could be handled properly.

"Fine," Hidan muttered. He charged, dodging under the falcon's wings, going for the girl.

Vladdy suddenly sucked in the falcon bird through her mouth.

Hidan hesitated, but continued to charge, _What the…?_

Vladdys eyes had black fire in them and suddenly she threw her head back and chakra wings grew from her back, her fingernails turning into talons, the skin in her face growing tight around her bones.

She jumped up in the air, Hidan barley even seeing her. Then, with all the strength she found from Tsunade and Axel, she brought her fist to the ground. The earth split open, creating a hole almost as wide as the barrier itself.

"Dammit," Shikamaru whispered, inching backwards.

Hidan was able to dodge the blow and while he was doing that he was able to bring he weapon around, and was able to get just a drop of blood from the girl. Just a drop. Just enough. He smiled.

Shikamaru observed the tip of Hidans blade, his eyes widened, "Vladdy!" He tried to go forward, but he couldn't without falling.

Hidan found a stable piece of ground, as did vladdy; the three of them being on the edges.

Vladdy glared at him, and she gasped when he stared drawing a symbol with blood.

Her hand instantly flew to her face, when she pulled it back, she saw blood on her fingertips. Her eyes widened, "No…" she whispered.

Hidan laughed, "I'll admit, good try, bitch," He raised a blade in the air, quickly bringing it back down to his now black body.

"No!" Vladdy yelled, leaping forward.

Just as hidan stabbed himself in the gut, Vladdys talons when through his heart.

And at the same time, blood flew from both their mouths, their bodies falling to the ground. Shikamaru leaped forward, grabbing Vladdy and smoothly landed on the other side of the barrier.

He gently laid her down, and looked in the hole; Hidan was barely holding onto a small cliff, his body was almost torn completely in half.

"Damn, bitch!" he laughed and looked up at shikamaru.

Shikamaru just looked at him, "You're awfully pathetic for akatsuki," he said.

Before Hidan could respond, Shikamaru threw one of asuma's blades, directly slicing off Hidan's head; it fell to the bottom of the hole; his body not far behind.

After about a minute, Shikamaru heard a laugh echo from the bottom of the hole. "I am immortal!" it cried.

"Immortality doesn't necessarily mean you will truly live until the end of time; it just means your body will keep functioning until then." Shikamaru whispered.

---

"There!" Sai said, running faster, deeper into the woods.

"Vladdy…" Gaara said, feeling her cousin's presence fade.


	12. See you in Heaven See you in Hell

Vladdy looked up into the dark canopy of the forest, her eyesight starting to fade. "Shit." She whispered, "Looks like I'll be seeing you soon, bitch…"

"Vladdy!" Sai screamed, practically running into the barrier. He bent down to her level, and starting banging at the barrier, "dammit!"

Gaara ran up behind him, placing her hand on the barrier. "No…" she whispered, "I can't destroy this from the outside…and from the looks of it…" she looked at Vladdy lying on the ground. _She can't destroy it from the inside._

Sai kept hitting away at the barrier, "Move dammit!"

"Stop…" he heard a voice whispered.

He looked through the barrier, Vladdy was looking at him, "Stop, it won't work," she whispered.

Sai stopped banging and placed him hand on the barrier, "Don't you leave me yet," he ordered, "Who's gonna punch me when I insult everyone?"

Vladdy chuckled, and with her remaining strength, she placed her palm with his, "I'm sure someone will." She smiled.

Sai gasped, "Stop it, you can't leave me!" he pleaded.

She laughed again, "Now, don't be a pussy."

Sai tried to laugh, but he couldn't, "You leave me no choice," he whispered, "You've changed my life, completely."

Vladdy frowned, "Yeah, you changed mine too," she coughed up blood suddenly.

"Vladdy!" Sai pushed on the wall between them.

"Its fine," she struggled to say, "You know, I love you," she smiled.

Sai eyes widened, he had never heard those words spoken to him, and what he was about to say, he had never said ever before, "I-I love you too…"

Vladdy's hand fell from the barrier. She looked up at her cousin. Her friend. Her rival. All they did was stare at each other for a moment, and then, very faintly, Vladdy gave her a nod.

Gaara looked hard at her for a moment, and returned the nod, kneeling to the ground, her eyes closed.

"Vladdy? Vladdy?!" Sai pushed.

Vladdy looked up, and suddenly she saw light. _That's weird, it's pretty freaking dark in here._ And then she saw Amaterasu above her, her hand reached out towards Vladdy.

"Let's go," she whispered.

Vladdy hesitated, scared; but then above Amaterasu, she saw a familiar figure. It was a girl, she had blonde hair. The girl turned her head and Vladdy's eyes widended.

"You're ALREADY coming? Jeeze you're such a whore," the girl giggled.

Vladdy smiled, reaching her hand up towards Amaterasu, "Guess so, bitch."

___

Suddenly the barrier deteriorated.

Sai instantly pulled Vladdy's body into his arms, brushing her hair from her face.

"Back up." Shikamaru said.

Gaara jumped, hardly remembering he was there. They did as Shikamaru said.

"Idiot," Shikamaru whispered, throwing some paper bombs into the hole, "Idiot…" he tossed Asuma's lighter in, and in seconds the entire diameter was in flames.

---

Sai bent his head down and softly pressed his lips to Vladdy's. They were cold. He slowly pulled back, and smiled, "I'm sorry for calling you an ugly bitch the first time we met," he chuckled.

And then for the first time in his entire life, a tear fell from his eye.

And with that, the sun tucked behind the clouds, and rain began to fall from the sky, onto the earth.


	13. Glare

_I'm a failure as a hokage. _Tsunade thought, facing her shinobi.

"Though we did loose Vladdy, both Akatsuki members were defeated without further injury." Shikamaru reported.

"I see…good work everyone," Tsunade managed to say, "Dismissed."

---

Sai lied next to Vladdy's grave, talking to her.

Gaara watched him from afar, sympathizing for him.

Suddenly she felt a presence from behind, swiftly pulling out a kunai and turning towards her stalker.

"Woah," Shikamaru raised his hands up.

Gaara sighed, and put the knife away, "Don't sneak up on me like that," she said, looking back at the cemetery.

There was silence for many moments.

Shikamaru softly ran his fingers through her hair, "You know," he said, "You haven't cried yet."

Gaara didn't look at him, "I have more important things to do," she said bitterly.

Shikamaru looked at her hard. He gently took her chin into his fingers and turned her face towards his.

"Like?" he asked, looking deep into her cobalt-colored eyes.

She stared back at him and with no tenderness in her voice, she responded, "Nothing of your concern," She turned her head away.

Shikamaru frowned, "Did I do something?" he asked casually.

Gaara hesitated, "No," she answered, her voice monotone.

Shikamaru became somewhat frustrated and grabbed her chin again; this time she slapped his hand away.

They stared at each other for many moments. The same stare they gave each other in the chunnin exam, only a little over three years ago.

"Don't you dare do anything stupid," Shikamaru warned, "Don't run off with revenge in your mind and act as carelessly as Axel and Vladdy did."

She cut her eyes at him, "Don't," she ordered, "Give _me _orders; and don't," She leaned in closer, "call _them_ stupid for revenge, when you know damn well the reason you wanted to fight Hidan all by yourself."

Again, there was silence.

Shikamaru closed the gap between their lips, pulling her closer. After a few moments, Gaara pulled away.

"I need to go," she said, standing up and disappearing into the trees.

Shikamaru sighed and slowly stood up. He walked to Axel's grave which was located next to Vladdy's; and Axel's was next to Asuma's.

He noticed Sai had fallen asleep and he chuckled, then he faced the three graves.

"Sorry I couldn't protect you." He whispered.

----

Slowly the sun set and the atmosphere became black. And though it was black, it was not dark; for the sky was decorated with the stars, and the full moon.

"It's time," Gaara whispered.


	14. The Heir

Gaara slowly snuck out of her room and made her way deep into the forest outside the village.

Eventually she stopped right in the middle of the brush. She looked up and was able to see the moon perfectly through the gap in the trees.

"Here," she whispered, looking down at the ground.

She bent down and touched the earth and started to concentrate her chakra, "Dear Tsuki-Yomi, as your humble servant and future heir, may you open the pathways to the moon and the tides and let your power run through my veins; may the holy god of earth not be unhappy with your actions."

Suddenly her chakra flowed into four surrounding trees. Within seconds after that, a crescent moon appeared where her hand was.

She smiled.

Suddenly the soil shifted, and a gap in the earth was created, within that gap were stairs.

---

Gaara looked around the musty halls, "Looks like she hasn't been back," she muttered.

She eventually came to a door at the end of the hall, and she slowly opened it.

Inside was a small room, lit only by fireflies; many fireflies. At the front of the room, there was a small shrine.

She slowly approached it and kneeled in front of it. She lied her hand on a engraving of the full moon and once again started to speak.

"May I summon thee, Tsuki-Yomi. I must ask where my sister is, for she has long since disappeared into the cracks of the world and I must once again find her."

Suddenly, the fireflies all disappeared and the room was black. Gaara abruptly felt empowered and out-of-body.

"You called my child?" a voice echoed through the dark.

"Tsuki-Yomi lord, please forgive me for summoning your spirit so randomly," Gaara bowed.

"You're forgiven, not what concerns do you have?"

"I ask for the whereabouts of my sister, Ookami Lycan,"

There was a long silence in the darkness.

"And why do you ask of her whereabouts my child? Though you both inherited my powers, you do not act as sisters, but as rivals."

"I ask for her whereabouts because…" Gaara hesitated, "I believe my sensei is with her, of whom I need to locate."

"Ahh, Uchiha Raidon was it?" The voice echoed, "She is the latest host to Cathrina, Nephthys," the voice chuckled.

"Yes," Gaara answered.

"And why do you need to locate your sensei?"

Gaara hesitated again, and finally she explained.

"My daughter, heir to Selene," The voice was firm, "I will grant your wish, because you are level-headed and smart. Your intentions are not tainted by emotion, but by thought. But, if you defy these thoughts, you will be punished in your after life."

"I understand," Gaara answered.

"Then, I will etch the map into your mind, and you shall go from there."

Gaara bowed her head lower, "I understand,"


	15. Last Look

Three days later, Gaara was finally ready.

The night was dark, black, there was no moon, no stars.

She re packed all of her weapons and tied her fan in her ribbon surrounding her waist.

She took off Axel's head band and laid it on her dresser. Next, she pulled out her Sand village headband and laid it next to Axel's. Finally, she pulled Vladdy's from her dresser drawer, and laid it with the others. _I should give this to Sai before I leave._ She thought.

She looked up into her mirror and slowly started to remove the tape she had placed where her headband was. Under the tape revealed a elegant pattern. A deep violet crescent moon was in the center of her forehead. Extending from it was a detailed pattern of swirls. This was not a seal, this was something she had been born with, and it had grown over time.

She stared at it for a long time. _I guess it's time-_ she thought, when suddenly she felt herself being turned around.

She spun into the arms of her intruder, and ended up staring into Shikamaru's eyes.

"Wha-?" She started to say, but he quickly shut up by aggressively pressing his lips to hers.

Gaara couldn't catch her breath for a moment, and then suddenly, with that one kiss he gave her, everything hit her at once.

Never again would she be a Leaf Village shinobi. She would never truly be welcomed as family into the Nisshoku household. Her team had fallen apart. One of her sensei's had a monster god inside of her; the other had fled to join the enemy. Her best friend and teammate, Axel, was dead because of her own rage. Her cousin and teammate, Vladdy was also dead. And up until now she had treated the man she loved with all her heart like trash.

And then, she started to cry.

Once Gaara's tears slid onto Shikamaru's cheek, his kisses became more aggressive. He slowly untied the ribbon around her waist, letting her fan fall to the ground.

Gaara kissed him back, not wanting this moment to end. At the same time, they both pulled the others' hair ties out and their long hair fell at the same time.

Shikamaru started to back up, until eventually he fell back on the bed; Gaara landing on top him.

Eventually, their kisses became polite and slow and soft.

"I-" shikamaru started to whispered.

"-love you" Gaara finished.

---

As dawn broke through the Nisshoku residence, Gaara's eyes eased open to see Shikamaru's face. He was still asleep. She smiled and brushed his thick black hair from his face.

She slowly got up, trying not to wake him, and grabbed her ribbon, tying her fan to her waist.

She took one last look at Shikamaru, and quietly, she slipped out of the village.


	16. Successors

Shikamaru slowly opened his eyes to a sunny room. He quickly sat up realizing it was mid-afternoon, and Gaara was nowhere in sight.

He quickly got off the bed and walked over to the dresser, looking at the three headbands lying there.

---

Gaara was traveling as quick as she could, making her way through fire country, heading towards Earth country.

_I'm coming for you, are you ready?_

_---_

Lycan awoke in a cold sweat, and sat up quickly, trying to catch her breath.

"Are you okay?" Raidon asked from across the room.

Lycan looked at her in shock, "You're awake!" she exclaimed.

Raidon gave her a tight smile, "I actually feel perfectly fine."

Lycan looked at her up and down. All of her wounds were healed, and she didn't seem fatigued. Then, she looked at her hard, "Do you remember what happened?"

Raidon looked at her feet, "A little…I only remember…Neji," Her voice grew distant.

Lycan sighed and looked out the window. It was getting dark and the moon was slowly seeping through the sky.

"I'm going to go for a walk, I'll be back later," Lycan said, getting up.

"A-alright," Raidon nodded, watching Lycan walk through the door.

Raidon looked out the window, wondering why exactly she was here with Lycan; but she didn't want to know quite yet, instead she just wanted to relax.

----

Lycan was walking through the dark woods, miles away from the house, her head spinning. _What is this feeling? _

Eventually she came to a clearing and looked up at the sky; all you could see was the moon will the earth with light instead of the sun. Then suddenly, she felt it.

"I had a feeling I would see you soon. And I had thought that you had run away from your old life," Lycan laughed, "Gaara."

Lycan slowly turned around to see Gaara standing many feet away, her face solid.

Lycan gave an evil smile, "Now? What's with that face? Aren't you happy to see me after such a long time?"

No answer.

"Hmph. Well than, how did you find me?"

No answer.

"…You awakened _him, _didn't you? To find me. Or…to find Raidon?"

No answer.

"You know…she _just _woke up. And she's perfectly fine, if you wanna get revenge or something. Though you would have to go through me first. And, I was expecting Vladdy, not you!" She laughed again.

"Vladdy's dead," Gaara stated, monotone.

Lycan raised an eyebrow, "Oh? Well, that's a shame. I didn't figure she would last long anyway."

Lycan quickly blocked Gaara's punch.

"Do not make ill of her name while I am present," Gaara threatened.

Lycan's smiled. She had been waiting for this for a long time. To see how her rival had grown. Her eyesight went to Gaara's forehead, "Oh, it's been a while since I've seen that."

They pushed on each other, their forces causing the other to fly backwards.

There was a long pause, and without warning, they charged at each other again.

Lycan pulled a kunai and whipped it across Gaara's cheek, just as Gaara landed a hit in Lycan's gut.

Again, they each fell back. Lycan rubbed her stomach as she licked the blood from her kunai. Gaara wiped the blood from her face. Within moments, Gaara jumped in the air. Lycan wasn't able to dodge the hit to her shoulder in time. Without warning, her arm went limp. Lycan smiled, pulling out needles with her other hand. She threw them smoothly at Gaara, who was only able to avoid 2 of the 5; 3 of them hitting her in various spots.

Gaara charged yet again. When she got close to Lycan, she started throwing direct hits at pressure points in the body; Lycan blocking her each time.

"The secret Nisshoku taijutsu, eh?" Lycan asked, blocking Gaara's hits with her still active arm.

Lycan was able to get her foot high enough to kick Gaara in the gut, sending her backwards.

Gaara slowly took the human-size fan out of her waist ribbon. She pulled it out in front of her, unfolded it, and stuck it in the ground; shielding her body.

"Already?!" Lycan called from across the open field.

_Yes, already._ Gaara pulled the fan across her body and pushed it forward.

Instantly a large sum of wind hit Lycan head on, sending her flying backwards into the woods. When she hit a tree, blood sprayed from her mouth.

_The wind; It's more powerful. _Lycan thought, slowly standing up, wiping her mouth.

She made her way to the opening and looked at Gaara. A smile was long gone from her face.

She started to make hand signs, and Gaara's eyes widened in recognition.

"Unveil! Transformation jutsu: Nocturnal Beast!" Lycan roared.

_Shit_. Gaara thought.


	17. Red Moon

Before Gaara's eyes, Lycan slowly grew fur, claws, and teeth; she became a wolf.

_Both she and Kiba have this type of jutsu…_ Gaara thought.

Lycan growled and charged at Gaara, throwing her claws at her.

Blood jumped from Gaara's body, splashing onto the trees.

_Shit. _Gaara thought, quickly getting away from Lycan; her body was in bad shape.

Lycan looked up at the sky and howled, and then looked back at Gaara, bloodlust in her eyes. She charged at Gaara again. Gaara quickly pulled her fan back, releasing a huge gust of wind; delaying Lycans attack.

Gaara swiftly jumped into the trees; hiding.

Lycan growled and began to sniff.

_Shit, I can't hide for long; the smell of my blood is everywhere. _Gaara thought, looking at her deep wounds. _This is bad, I need to think. _

Gaara slowly let out a breath, and opened her fan. She spotted some of her blood on it. "Summoning jutsu," she whispered.

Lycan sniffed the air, _found you._ She started charging towards the trees.

Suddenly, a gust of wind surrounded the entire area; a gust so powerful that the clouds covered the moon. Simultaneously, the wind sliced through the surrounding trees, causing them to fall in all different directions.

----

_She's been gone quite a while._ Raidon thought, worried. _Of course, she always is._ She looked out the window and sighed, "Lycan-ane, please come back this time." _I need to know why I'm here._

----

Blood busted from Lycan's mouth as a tree landed right on top of her gut. Her wolf form slowly receded. She struggled; trying to gather her remaining strength to push the tree of her body. Suddenly Gaara was standing above her; her face blank.

"Don't think you've won," Lycan spat.

"I…I am the successor, and I…am stronger than you," Gaara stated, but suddenly fell to her knees at the pain throughout her body.

"Is that so?" Lycan laughed.

Gaara looked at her, her eyes not showing any sign of emotion. She slowly pulled out her kunai knife and slowly brought it to Lycan's throat.

"You will die by Cathrina's hand." Lycan muttered.

"…Then I guess you'll see one of us in hell," Gaara said, dropping the knife.

All was silent, the clouds still covered the moon, the earth was dark. Gaara slowly fell to her side, struggling to breathe.

"Dammit," she whispered, trying to concentrate her chakra. Although she did not know medical ninjutsu like Axel and Vladdy; she did know how to make a chakra thread, and how to work it.

As much as it hurt, she slowly stitched her wounds closed, keeping her chakra steady the entire time.

Eventually, she was done, and she fell asleep; her chakra still circulating.


	18. Student to Sensei

"Looks like my wounds are all better," Gaara said. It had been about 2 ½ days since she killed Lycan. She had been hiding in a nearby cave deep in the woods near the opening where she had killed her. She slowly let the chakra threads go.

"Now…I need to find _her," _she whispered.

----

Raidon was unbelievably worried. Finally she got up and walked towards the door.

_She might be hurt or something…the terrain around here is really rough._

---

Raidon traveled quickly through the dense woods, looking around rapidly, "Lycan-ane!" she yelled.

With a few more steps, she saw a person many yards away, she squinted her eyes, pulling out a knife, "Who's there?!"

"Why Raidon-sensei, I'm upset, you don't even recognize your stare pupil?" The voice echoed back.

Raidon's eyes widened, "G-g..Gaara?!" She whispered, running towards her previous student.

---

Gaara watched her sensei run towards her, arms open, smile wide.

Raidon smashed into Gaara, throwing her arms around her, "It's been too long, Gaara!"

Gaara did not return the embrace; instead she observed that she was now a bit taller than her sensei.

Raidon took a step back, "What are you doing here?! Never mind that, you can tell all about how you've been later. I'm looking for Lycan, have you seen her?"

Gaara looked at her and slowly nodded, "Follow me," she murmured.

---

Eventually they reached an opening the forest. Raidon looked around, and saw destroyed terrain.

_A fight? _She wondered. "Gaara," she said, "Where is she?"

"Where is she?" Gaara repeated, "She's in the ground, right over there," She pointed to a neat mound of dirt at the other end of the clearing.

"Wha-?" Raidon was confused, but before she could react, Gaara drew a kunai and sliced through Raidon's shoulder.

Raidon jumped back, "Gaara?! What are you doing?!"

Gaara gently whipped the blade on her clothes, "What am I doing?" she again repeated Raidon, "I'm going to kill you." She slowly observed her blade, checking to see if it was clean, and with no warning, charged at Raidon.

Raidon didn't know what to do, "Gaara!" She screamed, drawing her knife.


	19. Tactics and Strategy,Knowledge and Power

"Gaara?! What the hell are you doing!?" Raidon screamed, trying to hold her back.

"I already told you," Gaara answered, her voice monotone, "I'm killing you."

Raidon's eyes became blurry, "why?! What has happened?!" Raidon used all her force to push her back and then fell to her knees, "what's happening?!" she gripped her head.

Gaara looked upon her sensei, "How pathetic, you can't even face me? I've come to kill you, and that thing inside you, in order to help the world. "

"what?" Raidon whispered, still shaking.

"You heard me. You are nothing now. You have nothing. Two of your students are dead, your family is dead, what is left of your family have been marked as traders. Your lover abandoned you, and guess what else?" She bent over, putting her lips at her sensei's ears, "I murdered your best friend, with no mercy, I drew her blood, right here, on this very spot."

As Raidon shook, her eyes and hair slowly faded into darker shades.

Gaara took a step back.

Cathrina slowly stood up, "You brat." She groaned. "You force anger upon this body and make me come out, its very annoying."

"Don't worry, once you're dead, you won't have to deal with my 'bratyness' anymore," Gaara replied.

Cathrina glared at her, "Do you honestly believe you can kill me?"

Gaara stared back, "Yes I do, and do you know why, Cathrina? Goddess of destruction and hate?"

Cathrina kept glaring.

"Because, I am far superior to your superficial power," she stated.

"Brat!" Cathrina charged, throwing a punch.

Gaara smoothly dodged, grabbing her arm and throwing her backwards, her body hitting the earth.

Gaara continued to talk, "I figured it out you know,"

Cathrina got up, and gathered her chakra, "Cero!" she aimed.

Gaara swiftly pulled out her fan, "Reverse whirlwind," her wind became intertwined with the cero, causing it to fly back at Cathrina.

"You see," Gaara continued lexturing, "I know how to kill you,"

Snakes began flying towards Gaara, who again, dodged.

"Binding jutsu, Nisshoku strong hold," She aimed her fingers at Cathrina, who instantly became enclosed in a barrier-box."

Gaara walked up the barrier, and stared at Cathrina, "I know," she stated, "That if your host is killed while in this state…the state in which you are in control, you both shall die."

Cathrina began using attacks on the barrier.

"And in turn, you will not be reborn, but simply…die," Gaara stated, impassive.

"Bitch!" Cathrina yelled, knocking her fists into the chakra wall.

"And I also figured out that…I am the one…who will make it happen," Gaara whispered, "Release."

The barrier shattered, and Cathrina and Gaara stood no more than 10 feet away.


	20. Breathe

Snakes entangled Gaara's body, making it hard to breathe. She was flung around, and eventually her body was slammed into the dirt.

Cathrina smiled, "Not so tough now, eh?"

Gaara slowly got up, noticing Cathrina concentrating a Cero. But, before Cathrina had the chance to fire, a slice of power bolted through her leg.

"Fuck!" She screamed.

Gaara slowly lowered her fingers, "White lightning, one of your specialties, right? I remember, you taught me it after all."

Cathrina was annoyed. Not necessarily at the fact that she was fighting, but that her opponent seemed almost…_uninterested_.

Cathrina used shunpo, appearing behind Gaara. She smiled, "Gotcha now…what?!"

Gaara had disappeared, and suddenly a kunai was at her throat, from behind.

"Subsitution…" Gaara whispered "And now Cathrina," Instead of slicing her throat for a immediate kill, Gaara did something else.

"White lightning," Gaara muttered, and blood flew from Cathrina's mouth.

"This is…" Cathrina struggled to whisper, her hair and eyes slowly fading back to Raidon.

"…How you killed Axel," Gaara finished the statement.

Raidon's dying eyes filled with tears, "What?" she struggled to say.

Gaara sat next to Raidon, "Raidon-sensei, you murdered Axel."

Raidon's eyes overflowed with tears.

"And Vladdy was also killed."

"By me?" Raidon asked.

"No," Gaara answered, her voice calm.

"Gaara…I'm so sorry…for…"

"Shh," Gaara ordered, "Raidon-sensei, I did not kill you out of hate, but out of duty,"

Raidon smiled slighty, "You always were…thank you," blood ran from her mouth.

And just as Raidon took her last breathes, Gaara bent over and whispered, "I forgive you."

And with that, Raidon's body died, taking Cathrina's soul with it.

---

Gaara buried Raidon's body next to Lycans. There's no way she could carry their bodies back to the village; her stitches had re-opened when she was slammed into the ground; and her chakra was too low to sew it up.

---

"Come on dude, let's get some lunch, so you can relax," Choji pushed.

Shikamaru had been standing at the village gate ever since Gaara had left, watching the empty road.

Shikamaru was about to follow Choji when he saw a figure in the distance.

"…Gaara?!" He started to sprint down the road leading into the village until he reached her.

Blood shown through her clothes, her skin pale. He embraced her, and eventually picked her up; carrying her to the hospital.

On the way Gaara whispered to him, "I did it…I killed them…" she coughed.

"Shh," Shikamaru eased, entering a operating room, "Tsunade-sama! Shizune-san!"

Gaara smiled at Shikamaru, and suddenly the lights merged, her hearing vanished, and it became dark.


	21. I'm Coming

"Are you sure your ready, Gaara?" Raidon reached her hand out towards Gaara, smiling. Lycan stood many yards in front of her, her back to Gaara.

Gaara realized that she was on her knees, dressed in a pale white dress. Raidon –sensei was actually above her, standing, also dressed in white.

Suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder, she turned around, eyes wide.

Axel smiled, "It's been a while, hasn't it? Sorry for not stopping by to see you before…" she laughed, "Yah know!" she looked at Raidon, laughing. "…Gaara?"

Gaara touched her face and realized she was crying; she couldn't speak.

"And I thought you were the _level-headed one_!" A voice mocked, and suddenly Gaara saw Vladdy walk on the other side of her.

Vladdy turned around, "You know, you don't have to, if you don't want to."

_Want to what?_ Gaara couldn't speak.

"Come with us," Lycan answered, her back still facing the rest of them.

Gaara continued to sit there, dumbfounded.

Vladdy sighed, "I don't think white is my color," she moaned.

Axel rolled her eyes, "It's because you wear too much black!" she pointed.

Vladdy waved her off, walking towards Lycan, "At least I don't engage in sexual activities before I'm married!"

"What the hell is that suppose to mean?!" Axel stood up, fist raised.

Gaara wanted to laugh, just like she always had back in the day. But she couldn't. She looked up; Raidon's hand was still reached out.

"Gaara?" she whispered, "You don't have to, and there are still plenty of people waiting for you."

_Who? Where? _Gaara couldn't say.

Lycan, still not facing her, pointed in the direction that Gaara's back faced.

Gaara slowly turned her head around, and instead of a white tunnel like the one Lycan was at, it was a multi-colored one.

_Gaara? _A voice called from the colored tunnel.

Gaara jumped at the voice, and then realized who was calling her.

_Shikamaru? _She shivered.

"Gaara?" Gaara turned back to the rest of the group at the sound of Axel's call.

_Gaara?_

_N…Neji-sensei?!_

Raidon pulled her hand back, smiling slightly.

"Gaara?" Vladdy's voice had Gaara whip her head back around."

"Coming?"

_Coming?_

"Are you _coming?"_

"Go," Raidon whispered softly, "We'll see you eventually."

---

Gaara's cobalt eyes slowly eased open to dim lights, and familiar air.

"Gaara!" A voice or two shouted, and someone squeezed Gaara's hand.

She slowly turned her head to see Shikamaru's face. There were a few other faces in the room, but Shikamaru's was all she could see. His eyes were streaming tears, tears she hadn't seen in a long time.

He was holding her hand tightly, putting it to his face, "Thank God," he whispered.


	22. Regret

"Do you think it's alright if I see her now?"

"For the most part her injuries are healed; so yes, you may. I just suggest that you watch your step." Tsunade answered.

---

"Ouch!" Shikamaru quickly sucked blood from his finger.

Gaara giggled, "You're a high level shinobi, and you can't even peel an orange?" she laughed, taking the orange and knife from him.

"Be careful," He said.

"OH PLEASE!"

Shikamaru laughed, thankful to be sitting next to Gaara; alive and healthy.

"Let me go get you a glass of water," he said, "I'll be right back."

"Alright," she smiled.

He gave her a kiss on the forehead and left the room.

Gaara went back to peeling the orange.

It had been about a week since she woke up and had been in recovery since.

_Go. We'll see you eventually._

Raidon's words echoed through her head.

Suddenly the door opened.

"Jeesh, back already?" Gaara laughed, looking up. But it wasn't Shikamaru.

She dropped the orange and gripped the knife.

"How are you feeling?" Neji asked, closing the door behind him.

Gaara didn't know what to say. Anger took over. She jumped from her bed, slammed her sensei against the wall, and held the knife to his throat.

"_FEELING?!_" she screamed, "Axel, Vladdy, Lycan, and even your PRECIOUS Raidon are _DEAD._" She yelled into his face.

Neji made no motion to get her off of him, "I'm sorry," he whispered.

Gaara slapped him.

Neji slowly turned his head back towards her, "Do you want an explanation?"

"Will it change anything?"

"No."

"…Tell me." She whispered, not letting go.

Neji took a deep breath, "I was given a level S mission many months back. I was to infiltrait Akatsuki and gather information. I wasn't to tell anyone, and act convincingly. I was able to gather an immense amount of information that will, with no doubt, give us a great advantage over Akatsuki."

Gaara's eyes widened, "A mission?"

Neji slowly nodded.

Gaara sunk to the ground, fatigue setting in. She let go of the knife and began to shake. "A-a mission…is the reason that their all dead?" she whispered.

Neji bent down and hugged her tightly, "I know, and I'm so sorry," he whispered; honest.

And suddenly Gaara burst into tears.

Shikamaru suddenly walked in and pulled Neji away. "Haven't you done enough?" he asked, slowly bending over to Gaara.

After many moments, Neji left the room, leaving Shikamaru to comfort Gaara.


	23. Prodigy

It was extremely early in the morning, before the birds had even awaked.

Gaara packed her bags and slipped out the door. She headed to Sai's and placed her cousin's headband on his window. Next, she went to the Hyuuga residence. She left a letter addressed to Neji. Her final stop was Tsunade's office, and then to the village gate.

Once she arrived, she paused, thinking of how much had happened in only seventeen years.

"Going again without telling me, eh?"

Gaara turned and stared at Shikamaru, silent.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"I'm not sure," she whispered.

He looked at her.

"The Kazekage knows that I won't be back for a while, and Tsunade-sama knows I'm leaving."

Shikamaru sighed, walked towards her, and stood very close.

"You can't stop me," she warned.

"I know," he breathed, taking her hand, "So I'm going with you."

Gaara nodded, smiling slightly.

With that, they turned and left, with no destination in mind.

---

"Neji-sama, a letter was left for you."

Neji took the piece of paper into his hands and unfolded it, reading:

_Sensei,_

_We've been through so much, lost so much. As a shinobi, I have learned how to do the impossible: accept death of the people closest to me. Is it strange, to forgive and forget so easily? Or maybe I've forgiven, and will never forget. Do you believe that they share the same sky as us? Or is our sky, their floor? I guess I'll have to wait and find out; I know they'll be the mean time, I'll be looking at that ocean above our heads, and I ask that you also remember to look at it. Now…and then: I see the birds spread their wings and fly wherever they please. I'll do the same._

_ -Gaara_

Neji smiled. He walked to his window and looked at the sky

_I will too, Gaara._

_END_


End file.
